Going at it like Bunnies
by Takara Phoenix
Summary: In a world where animal-hybrids are sold and treated as pets, Nico fights for their rights. He and his sisters try to save at least some by taking them in. So when Nico runs into a teen with black floppy ears and a cottontail, he knows he has to save Percy Jackson too. Nico/bunny!Percy slash Nicercy


PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || Going at it like Bunnies || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Going at it like Bunnies – Precious Pets

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; total AU

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, creatures/hybrids, slavery/pets, collars/leashes, mating, heat, explicit intercourse, anal, masturbation, toys, mpreg, breeding, past abuse, threesome, shoujo-ai, hetero

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Luke/Octavian, Thalia/Bianca, Jason/Reyna, Piper/Annabeth, Jake/Will

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Thalia Grace, Luke Castellan, Octavian Simmons, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace, Will Solace, Jake Mason, Rachel Elizabeth Dare

Summary: In a world where human-animal-hybrids are kept as pets, Nico di Angelo tries to distance himself from those notions. They were still part human, after all. The notion of keeping someone as his pet was just disgusting. At least until he finds a stray little bunny called Percy.

**Going at it like Bunnies**

_Precious Pets_

Curious, dark eyes scanned the newspaper for anything of value. The man holding the newspaper, a tall Italian, had no mind for unimportant information. He was a businessman and only things concerning his business were of importance to him. Not which starlet broke up with which rapper. His eyes swept over to his still steaming coffee. This was his routine. Every morning, he bought the newspaper and a scolding hot coffee at the same little café, reading the newspaper while the coffee cooled down. It was his calm start into the day. Leaning back some, he turned the page.

And there his calm and good day went, straight out the window. Another political rant from some narrow-minded politician on Pet Rights. There also went Nico's appetite for breakfast. Nico was a guy far from being politically interested, but he had a personal stance when it came to Pet Rights.

The mere fact that they were called 'Pets' was disgusting for Nico. They were human-animal-hybrids. Not that the people with power and money cared about the human part in that. The humans had animal-features, which made them worth less than actual humans. Simple as that. Rich people bought young hybrids as loyal companions for their children, having rich children grow up with someone who they could trust and who certainly wasn't a spy from the parents' enemies. Though those were the luckiest pets. Others ended up as slaves, to put it simple. Working around the house – the females or weaker ones – and doing the manual work humans didn't want to do. The worst deal did the bedroom pets get though. With their exotic features, pets were considered highly arousing and everybody wanted a pretty girl with cat-ears or a handsome guy with dog-ears and the actual loyalty of a dog sitting at their feet and serving them in the bedroom. Pets weren't allowed anything. They were held captive in the Pet Shelters, sold and then had to live with their masters. Some escaped, running through the streets. Never for long. Once they got caught, they were in for more trouble than Nico truly cared to know. It made Nico angry in that powerless way, because regardless of how much power his company had, he couldn't change the laws of the world.

Folding the newspaper irritated, he looked around the café to take his mind off the topic. Something caught his interest. A boy, standing at the counter, staring shyly at the barista. The boy was dressed in rags, wide, blue shirt, torn skinny-jeans, run-down shoes and a large, blue bonnet over his shoulder-long black hair. Worrying his plumb, pink, lower lip, he counted the pennies in his hand, cautiously handing them over to the redheaded barista. The boy was not a regular customer, Nico knew that. He would have noticed someone as pretty. Taking his coffee, Nico emptied it in one go, grunting slightly at the high temperature. The boy reluctantly took the coffee from Rachel, the barista. But his eyes – the most amazing shade of bluish green possible – were fixed on a double-chocolate blueberry muffin, one of the largest in the display. A pink tongue darted out, wetting the delicious looking lips. It was obvious the boy was hungry and desired the muffin. But instead of buying it, he grabbed the coffee tightly and turned to leave the shop. Nico stood and walked up to the counter. Rachel smiled at him a little surprised – after all, he had his routine and that normally included him leaving once his coffee was empty and he had never bought more than one cup of coffee each day. Returning her smile, he pulled his wallet out.

"The double-chocolate blueberry muffin and everything you know about the boy."

"Who? Percy?", asked Rachel surprised, putting the muffin into a paper back. "He's a sweet boy. I think he's sixteen or something. A shy thing. Living on the streets, I think."

Nico nodded, frowning a little. He had suspected something like that – that the boy was living on the streets. Taking the blueberry muffin, Nico left the café in a haste, hoping to catch the teen. Luckily enough, Percy stood out in the crowd of gray suits. Nico picked up his pace and hurried after the teen, but when Percy rounded the corner, he seemingly noticed Nico and ran faster himself. Of course he would. What teenage boy was reckless enough to slow down when a stranger followed them? Cursing beneath his breath, Nico too started running.

"Wait up!", called Nico out, knowing it was probably useless. "I don't want to hurt you!"

He just wanted... He had no idea what he wanted. It had been an impulse-decision to buy the muffin for the stranger, but he knew that the homeless boy deserved breakfast, because he looked as though he hadn't eaten in days. They hit a dead-end in an abandoned alley-way and Percy came face to face with a fence. Nico stopped behind the teen, panting slightly.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, I'm normally not that creepy", stated Nico. "I just... bought you a muffin. Which sounds no less creepy. I saw you in the café and I wanted to do something nice."

Percy whirled around at the sound of his voice and the bonnet that had been loosened by the boy's running was picked up by the wind. Nico's eyes widened in surprise as long, black floppy ears fell out from beneath the bonnet. Bunny-ears. The boy was a hybrid.

"N—No", whispered Percy, eyes wide in fear as he patted his own head for his bonnet.

"Sh, calm down", murmured Nico, his voice soft and soothing. "I won't hurt you."

"Y—You're going to bring me back to a shelter", hissed Percy and turned around hastily.

He started to climb the fence with some difficulties. Nico glared annoyed. Of course the boy had to be a stubborn brat. His glare melted when Percy slipped and fell down the fence, hitting his head on the asphalt. He had been too nervous, too eager to escape. Nico rushed over to the boy, realizing that the bunnyboy had fallen unconscious. Checking for injuries with tender fingers, he found a bleeding spot at the back of Percy's head. He hastily tore his shirt up and sloppily tied it around the injured head, effectively hiding the adorable, long ears too. Then he proceeded to get his phone out and dial the number of his bodyguard and his driver. They should be close by anyway, to pick Nico up after his morning ritual to bring him to the Elysium Agency.

"Where are you? You just ran off!", scolded his bodyguard as soon as he picked up.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Jason, shut up. I need you to drive to the back-alley two streets down. Hurry."

The lack of response told Nico that his best friend and bodyguard understood his urgency and took it serious. Jason was one of the few people Nico trusted. Coincidentally, Jason was also a hybrid. He was a dogboy, a guard dog given to him by his father. Actually, a wolf and not just a regular dog. It had something to do with status. Only the richest could afford a wolfboy. Jason had started out as his guard dog and soon become Nico's best friend. Frank however was a different story. The human had started out as their driver, shy and stiff, reluctant to even engage in conversation with the rich and famous di Angelo heirs. By now, he was engaged to the youngest di Angelo, after years of not daring to as much as talk to Hazel, he had saved her life one day when a lunatic thought it a great idea to kidnap the youngest di Angelo and demand a ransom. Frank had turned from the silent guy in the background to her personal hero that day. They had started going out soon after.

"Nico! What are you doing back here?", asked Jason annoyed as he came rushing over.

The good thing about dogboys was that they had sharp noses, so he could track down his master even in a large crowd. The scowl on the blonde's face melted when he saw Nico standing there, cradling an unconscious boy to his chest. Jason sniffed the air, pupils narrowing at the scent of both blood and prey. His eyes zoomed in on the bunny in his master's arms and he growled.

"Down, boy", ordered Nico sternly, holding Percy more protectively against his chest. "I need you to make some calls for me. First, call my friend Will, tell him to come over. Then I need you to call Bianca and ask her to take over my ten o'clock meeting today."

Jason nodded stiffly, eyes glued to the prey in Nico's arms. The wolf inside of him wanted to hunt the little thing down, the rational part of his brain fought against it because this was quite obviously a hurt teenager. The blonde hastily got his phone out to distract himself and do as his master said.

"Hey, Rey", greeted Jason, smile slipping onto his lips as his girlfriend picked up. "I need you to reschedule Nico's day some... like, clear it. Can you ask Bianca to take over for him? And call Will. Tell him to bring his evil vet things with him, we got an emergency."

He could hear his girlfriend laugh through the line. "Stop calling them 'evil vet things'. You hybrids with your fear of doctors, it's ridiculous. Seeing as Nico is always very reliable, I'm sure I can do this. But... what kind of emergency are we talking about? _Who_?"

Reyna was Nico's personal assistant and his oldest and best friend, which was how Jason and Reyna had gotten together. A rare, if nor impossible, thing. Love. A relationship, not an ownership. Some may find love in their own pets over time, yes, but Jason wasn't Reyna's. He was Nico's. It was what made their relationship all the more special. Reyna had fallen in love with the wolf for who he was and not for what he was and due to the way Nico and the other members of the di Angelo household treated him, Jason never truly felt like a pet, he felt like an equal part of the family.

Said family consisted of more than just the three di Angelo heirs. Reyna, the personal assistant of them all, better known as the only one capable of controlling the three siblings, as well as their driver Frank were the only other human members aside from Bianca, Nico and Hazel.

Bianca's guard dog the wolfgirl Thalia had been the first hybrid to join that family, together with the catboy Luke and the catgirl Annabeth, because the trio had been living on the streets together before having been brought to the shelter. Bianca hadn't been able to separate them and insisted on taking all three of them. Reyna had brought her own catboy into the household, a stubborn bastard by the name of Octavian. And after Hazel's close-call abduction, Hades had demanded that both Nico and Hazel should get guard dogs too. Jason and Leo. They had been close friends at the shelter already and while Jason was a wolf, fit to be a guard dog and coincidental from the same family tree as Thalia and thus being her little brother, Leo was nothing like a guard dog should be. A lap dog and cuddle thing, really, but after her abduction, their father Hades had taken Hazel to a shelter to pick a dog as protector and when Hazel had seen Leo, she knew where he'd end up. He was petite, gorgeous and cute, he would have ended up someone's sex-toy and she did not want that. So she had chosen the one least suited to be a guard dog (granted, by now Leo was Hazel's sex-toy, but by choice, not force). Leo and Jason however hadn't been alone, just like Luke, Thalia and Annabeth, they had been a trio, together with the kitten Piper. The di Angelos took the whole trio in. They were owned as friends, saved from the shelter and a worse fate. Not like most pets. It was what made the di Angelos special, they saw hybrids as humans and treated them as such, not as animals.

"No one", assured Jason softly, knowing Reyna was currently worried on account of one of the other pets of the household. "None of ours. Nico just... took in a stray, you could say."

Nico all the while climbed into the car, startling Frank as the driver saw the unconscious boy in Nico's lap. Not that Nico cared. He cautiously brushed Percy's hair out of his face, marveling at how beautiful the boy was, even beneath the dirt and filth. He couldn't wait to see Percy freshly showered and in clean clothes. He'd be absolutely breathtaking, for sure.

"D—Did you steal a kid, Nico?", yelped Frank nervously, borderline panicked.

"Idiot", grunted Nico with a glare. "I found him. He's a hybrid, so we can't bring him to a hospital. Jason already informed Will, so would you _please_ drive us back to the villa?"

Frank nodded stiffly and hit the pedals to bring them home fast.

/break\

Life for a hybrid at the di Angelo house was different from life probably everywhere else, mused Annabeth as she stretched out on the couch. She had her legs resting in her mate's lap, a book laying in front of her. Hybrids were rarely allowed to learn how to read, but Bianca had encouraged her. Two females were rarely allowed to mate, most of the time pretty girls like them ended up chained to the bed of some rich pervert. Annabeth and her mate Piper had been scared at first, but the di Angelos were good humans. Kind humans. They weren't owners, they were family. Even more so because they had taken Annabeth's little family in. Luke, Thalia and Thalia's little brother Jason.

"Can't you stop reading, Annie?", asked Piper with the slightest whine, swatting at Annabeth's bushy white cat-tail. "Risking to sound like Leo here, but... pay attention to me!"

"Oi!", complained Leo from his spot on the floor, glaring up at his best friend.

"What? You want to argue?", countered Piper, arching one eyebrow. "Those are literally the first words out of your mouth when Frank and Hazel get back from work in the evening."

"Doesn't give you the right to tease", pouted Leo, floppy ears hanging low.

"Aw, good puppy", teased Piper, patting his head.

"Girls, stop teasing the pup", warned a dark, authoritative voice.

Luke leaned against the door-frame, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at them. Out of the seven hybrids in the house, Luke and Thalia were the parental figures. The wolfgirl and the catboy had been best friends since cubhood, back when they had first met on the streets. They had found Annabeth, an abandoned little kitten, and taken her in. The three of them had ended up in the same shelter and Bianca di Angelo had chosen them. Well, she had chosen Thalia, but when she had noticed how close those three were, her family had taken all three of them. A few years later and the story practically repeated with Jason, Piper and Leo. An inseparable trio. When the three little ones joined, Luke stood tall and proud and accepted them as his kits. Things had gotten considerably more complicated when Nico and Hazel were older and joined the firm and that assistant woman Reyna moved in with the di Angelos to keep them in line, because with Reyna came Reyna's kitten Octavian. The gorgeous blonde catboy hadn't wasted a lot of time before he had started courting Luke. Somehow, Luke had always thought he'd one day end up with Thalia. But then Thalia had started sleeping with their owner Bianca and what had started sexually turned into true love and Luke realized that maybe, they shared the parental duties over their cubs, but they would never be mates. And then Octavian had entered their lives and changed Luke's forever.

"Are you scolding the brats again, love?", whispered a husky voice into Luke's ear.

Luke shuddered a little as bony arms were wrapped around his waist and pulled him up against a hard chest. Octavian's teeth graced Luke's pulse, making the other blonde shudder again. Octavian was perfect for him, he was exactly what Luke deserved after the life he had. Smiling lazily, Luke wrapped his white, bushy tail around Octavian's waist. He could hear Piper, Annabeth and Leo snicker like the cheeky cubs they were. Rolling his eyes, Luke decided to tease them. With a large smirk on his lips, Luke turned around, resting one hand in Octavian's neck and pulling the taller boy into a passionate kiss. Octavian grunted, a little surprised, but was more than eager to obey, resting one hand on Luke's lower back to pull him closer, the other cupping Luke's cheek.

"Ew!", complained Annabeth, wiggling his nose. "Too much PDA! Stop it! Things I don't want to see my dad doing; sticking his tongue into Octavian's throat. So much ew."

Octavian smirked against Luke's lips, deepening the kiss. He had never wanted to take a mate, much less one that came with three cubs. But the first time he had seen Luke, he just knew. He knew he had to have this impressive catboy, the born leader over his little pack. There was no way Octavian could let Luke slip away. He _had_ to have the white-furred catboy as his mate. Sadly, a knocking on the door interrupted the perfect kiss. Even though they could hear Thalia going to get the door, Luke still parted to check. When their humans weren't home, the three eldest were in charge, it was their duty to protect the home and the cubs and Luke took it more than seriously.

"Will?", asked Thalia a little stunned as she opened the door, Luke and Octavian on either side behind her. "What... What are you doing here? Our humans aren't home. And we're all healthy."

Will was a charming, blonde, human doctor. The only high school friend of Nico's, the only friend he had ever made outside their family. While Nico had grown up to step into his father's footsteps, Will had trained to become a vet, specialized on hybrids. The blonde was always accompanied by his own dogboy and boyfriend Jake. Said dogboy hastily pushed past the still startled pets of the di Angelos to get into the house. He loved Leo like a little brother and was always looking forward to any visits with the di Angelos so he could play with the energetic pup.

"I'm... not entirely sure why I'm here", admitted Will amused. "Reyna gave me a call about an emergency, but if you say none of you are hurt, I'm wondering why I'm here."

"Well, come in and have a tea then", offered Octavian semi-politely.

"Maybe it's... Jason", whispered Luke with a concerned frown. "He's not here, after all."

Thalia froze up, fear taking a firm hold of her at that thought. He was her little brother and she loved that stupid pup. He was not allowed to get hurt, otherwise she'd kick his butt.

"I'd love to take you up on that offer", nodded Will and entered. "Let's not worry too much. If it had been something urgent about Jason, then Reyna would have sounded more worried. Let's wait until Nico arrives here to give us the details, mh? Do you still have cake from Sunday?"

/break\

Percy's weight on his lap felt nearly natural to Nico by the time they reached the estate. It was strange to Nico, he had never felt that way about someone. Like they belonged with him. Not to this extend. When he had first laid eyes on Percy, he instantly wanted to know more about the intriguing boy and he wanted to help him, give him that blasted muffin. Normally, Nico didn't care much for others, outside of his very small circle of people and hybrids. He supposed that starting today, Percy would become another member of that circle. Because if he already worried that much about Percy after an hour, then there was no way Nico would send the cute bunny back out on the streets, or worse yet in a shelter. No, not a chance in hell. He gripped Percy a little tighter at that thought.

"Sh, little one, I'll take care of you", promised Nico softly, looking at the boy.

He knew what the streets and shelters were like for a young hybrid, his friends had told enough horror-stories about them. Nico wouldn't want for anyone to go through such a thing, but as mentioned during breakfast, he couldn't save everyone. He could however save those who graced his life, like this innocent little bunny. Percy's nose twitched in an adorable way and Nico smiled. He cautiously climbed out of the black stretch, holding tightly onto the teen. He led the way, followed by Frank and Jason, who hurried to catch up with him.

"Can you guys go and inform the others and send Will upstairs? I'll bring Percy to a room."

Jason and Frank nodded sharply as Nico made his way upstairs. As soon as Frank rounded the corner to the kitchen, he got jumped by his energetic puppy. Leo's tail was wagging in excitement as he got his master back early. Normally, Frank and Hazel would return home rather late during the week. He would forever be grateful to them for taking him in and caring for him, but he could never even start to comprehend that they _loved_ him. He was used to being the runt of the litter, teased and outcast. But Frank and Hazel loved him, cherished him, valued him.

"Master! You're home early!", exclaimed Leo with the largest smile.

He wrapped his legs around Frank's waist, arms around his broad neck. Frank grinned and laid his arms around the dogboy's waist, holding onto his butt. The hyperactive puppy was hard to resist. Granted, at first Frank had been immensely jealous, back when he had just become Hazel's hero and was slowly gathering courage to ask her out. It was then that she had gotten the puppy and with how cute and loyal Leo was, Frank had been sure he had already lost her to Leo. But Hazel loved him. And the more time Frank spend with Leo, the harder it became to dislike Leo.

"Yeah, puppy", chuckled Frank and tilted his head so he could kiss his excited lover.

"Where's Nico?", asked Annabeth, frowning concerned. "We have a Will here. Why?"

"Nico ran into a homeless and hurt hybrid cub", answered Jason, shifting a little in his posture. "He went upstairs with the little thing. I'm supposed to send you up to him, Will."

Will sighed and put his cup down. A hurt hybrid cub? If the di Angelos continued like that, they could easily open their own animal-shelter. Jake next to him stood, uncomfortable about leaving his mate and master alone with any strange hybrids, never knowing if the hybrid at hand would lash out and disagree with the treatment or if they would be well-behaved. Jake wasn't taking any chances when it came to his Will. Will smiled amused as he followed his guard dog upstairs and to one of the empty guest rooms. The smile slipped off his face when he saw the 'cub'. Seventeen, sixteen, maybe. Around the same age as Leo, Piper, Annabeth and Jason. Scrawny, like he didn't get food all that often. And clearly unconscious, apparently due to a hand-wound if the makeshift bandage around his head was any indication. Heaving a sigh, Will stepped up to the bed.

"You and your strays", chided Will with a fond look. "What's his story, Nico?"

"I saw him this morning in my regular coffee shop, all shifty and hungry. He was counting _pennies_ to pay for his coffee, staring mournfully at a muffin, because he didn't have the money for it", grunted Nico with gritted teeth. "The barista said his name is Percy. So I bought the muffin and followed the boy. And maybe I looked like some kind of pervert or predator or weirdo, because the boy just took off in a panic. When I had him cornered, I saw his... way too adorable ears. He panicked and wanted to climb a fence to get away, but he slipped and fell. Hit his head. He's obviously homeless, so I couldn't bring him to a hospital. They would have brought him to a shelter. I'm not going to support the system. So I figured you could... take care of him?"

Will smiled a little as he started to check Percy through.

/break\

Piper frowned concerned as she sat leaned against the wall, with Annabeth next to her. As though they'd just stay downstairs. They were worried too. Luke, Octavian and Thalia sat opposite the mated catgirls. The only ones not with them were Frank and Leo, because Leo had pulled Frank along to show him some kind of invention – the only way to occupy Leo's jumpy mind was giving him the chance to play and create new things. Frank was completely amazed by how brilliant his puppy's mind was, so he was always curious to see what Leo had come up with again.

"It smells weird", whispered Piper confused, tilting her head.

"He", corrected Thalia, raising one eyebrow. "And he just smells the way bunnies smell. You probably never caught the scent of one. He's not a catboy or a dogboy."

"He's not a predator. He's prey", offered Luke a little amused. "They aren't rare, but they're kept in separate shelters from us predators, that's why you never met one, Piper."

"Does Nico plan on keeping it—him, I mean?", asked Piper with a thoughtful frown.

"It's Nico", grunted Octavian and rolled his eyes. "Has any di Angelo ever said no to a stray?"

"Oh, you're one to be all high and mighty", countered Thalia skeptically. "I still question why in the world Reyna chose to keep _you_ as her pet. Very, _very_ questionable decision."

"No idea why anyone shouldn't want Tavy", argued Luke, glaring definitely at his best friend.

He bumped heads with Octavian, purring softly as he snuggled up to his mate. Insulting Octavian was a no-go in this household, at least as long as Luke was in ear-shot. Octavian grinned pleased as he ran his fingers through Luke's hair, fondling the white cat-ears tenderly.

"Nico never chose a pet himself", noted Annabeth softly, frowning a bit. "Thalia was Bianca's choice, she fought to take Luke and me too. Nico only took Jason because Hazel had chosen Leo and had fought to also buy Piper and Jason, so he assisted his sister's cause."

They fell silent at that. Nico had never said 'no' when his sisters brought home pets and he was an active member in the political fight against the mistreatment of pets, but he had never chosen to keep one. Maybe because, even though he knew they'd have a better life here, he just couldn't make that choice. Choosing one meant choosing that the others had to stay in the shelters. Nico just couldn't find it in himself to having been forced to make such a decision.

/break\

By sunset, every member of the di Angelo household knew of their new house-guest. Bianca and Hazel shared a drink over this. Nico hadn't joined them yet, he hadn't left Percy's bedside, not since Will had said that Percy's state once he woke up was crucial to pinpoint whether or not he had any kind of brain-damage. Frank and Will joined the women, with their puppies at their feet. Jake was curled together at Will's side, playfully swatting at Leo every now and again.

"He's pretty", admitted Reyna, standing slightly behind Nico.

The only male heir to the di Angelo name didn't even turn around, his focus still on the adorable, sleeping bunny on the bed. He watched in amazement how the cute button-nose would twitch every now and again, how those long, black floppy-ears framed his beautiful face. He was gorgeous.

"He'll stay with us", whispered Nico determined. "Look at him. He must have been living on the streets for at least months, maybe years. And he's too beautiful to go back to the shelter. I know exactly what kind of sick perverts would buy him. Go and get everything ready."

Reyna made a face, one that showed her clear disapproval. Not that she had a say in the matter. When Nico told her to get things ready, she'd contact the Stolls – the best forgers in the country – to get fake papers and IDs ready for the boy. Nodding once sharply, she left the room again.

"Mh... W—Where... am I?", whispered a tired and hoarse voice next to Nico.

The Italian jumped slightly, focus slipping up to those very unique eyes. So up close, they looked even more impressive. A clash of green and blue, like a storm brewing above the sea. For a moment, Nico was too amazed to even form words. He could stare into those eyes for hours, just trying to figure all the different shades of blue and green out.

"You're at my house", answered Nico, causing the bunnyboy to panic. "My name is Nico di Angelo. Do you remember what happened this morning? You... fell and hit your head. How do you feel?"

"Like a weirdo stalked and then abducted me", replied Percy, hissing softly.

He had seen Luke angry, had seen Jason furious. But compared to a cat and a wolf, a bunny looked truly... nonthreatening. Downright adorable, not that Nico would say that out loud, because it would only further upset the boy. Instead, he tried to look as non-stalker-ish as possible.

"I'm sorry if it seemed that way, but... I just wanted to do something nice", sighed Nico, a little frustrated. "You panicked and got hurt. I felt guilty, so I took you home and let my friend, a doctor, check on you. I felt like bringing you to the hospital wouldn't have been what you wanted, right? You're... living on the streets. On the run. Aren't you?"

"It's none of your business", muttered Percy and glared, folding himself small. "W—Why did you bring me _here_? D—Do you plan on keeping me? I can bite. W—We bunnies may not look threatening, but we got sharp teeth and believe me, I'll bite your prick off."

Nico knew it was a threat and he also knew that Percy could and probably would pull through with it, but he just couldn't help but smile. "You're tough. As I said, I brought you here because I thought you wouldn't want to be in an official hospital. I don't want you going into a shelter, or back on the streets for that matter. N—Not because I'm some kind of perv, even though that may be hard for you to believe at the moment. For now, just focus on your health. I'll get you the doctor."

With that, Nico stepped to the door where Jason was lingering, glaring. He gave the blonde a sign and Jason ran off to get Will from downstairs. Nico didn't let Percy out of sight, too afraid the bunny would up and bold as soon as no one was watching. Nico wasn't willing to risk that.

/break\

Confusion couldn't even begin to cover what Percy was feeling. First a creepy suit stalked him and tried to buy him with a muffin, then he hit his head and woke up in a fancy palace-thingy. There was a nice doctor, who checked him and told him he was physically okay, aside from his laceration and his malnourished state. The creepy suit was there too, because it was his house. So close, the creepy suit looked more like a handsome suit, all olive-skin with dimples and dark, messy curls and piercing, dark eyes and what looked like nice muscles hidden by the suit. Normally the perverts were either old or disgusting, or in the worst case, both. The handsome suit had claimed that he wanted Percy to be safe, so he wanted him to stay here.

There were others. Three pretty ladies and a large man. Five humans. Outnumbered. Four cats, two male and two female. Three dogs – one about Percy's age and height, two wolves.

A lot of predators. Not the happiest of situations for a prey-animal like Percy. It made him twitchy.

Currently, he was sitting cross-legged on the bed in the room he had woken up in, a laptop sitting on his lap. The chocolate-skinned human with the kind, golden eyes had given it to him, told him to verify handsome suit's words through the internet. The whole being-nice and not-a-creep stuff.

Percy knew how to use Google, thank you very much. So for the first time, he tried handsome suit's real name out on his tongue. Nico di Angelo. It sounded nice. Angels were good. His mom used to tell him about guardian angels, who protected others. And all the articles Percy had been reading in the past five hours now, they sure made Nico sound like a guardian angel. He fought for pet rights, had on various occasions stated that pets should have human rights, he donated millions of the family business' money on humane places for pets to stay and live nearly human lives.

Closing the laptop, he collapsed on the bed, heaving a long-suffering sigh. His eyes wandered through the room. It was a nice room. Large room. With a giant window-front, showing the beautiful garden outside. The windows were locked, for now had they said, until they could be sure he wouldn't just run. A _kid_ like him shouldn't live on the streets. Percy scoffed at that. He had seen more cruelty than all of them together. He wasn't a kid, hadn't been one for a damn long time. On a table, an expensive looking table, stood a large salad buffet. Apparently, handsome suit was very concerned about Percy's malnourished state. There was a giant screen above the table. Gathering himself up, he made his way to the connecting door for the bathroom. The bathroom alone was an argument to stay here. Hastily shedding his ragged clothes, he jumped into the bathtub. His mom used to say that he should be half-fish and not half-bunny. He smiled fondly at the memory.

Should he stay here?

The room was nice, the bathroom was nice, the people seemed nice. The alternative was the streets and there was always the danger of being caught and brought to a shelter. He didn't want that.

Once he was feeling clean, outside and inside, because his thoughts felt clearer after a bath too, he climbed out and cuddled into the fluffy bathrobe, nose twitching in excitement. It was such a soft material, he loved it. Slowly, he left the bathroom again and approached the salad buffet. It was all fresh and delicious and juicy. He hadn't had such a fresh thing for a long time.

Nibbling a carrot, he decided to leave the room. The decision whether or not he'd stay solemnly depended on his new house-mates. After all, this was a house filled with predators. He needed to know if he was even safe among them. Hopping down the stairs, he sniffed the air to find the others. Stopping short in front of the kitchen, he decided to rather listen in. Bunnies had good ears.

"Why do you want to keep him, Nico?", asked the kind, golden-eyed female.

Percy remembered the voice. He liked the voice. She sounded nice.

"There's something about him", replied handsome suit.

"What kind of thing?", inquired a mocking, male voice.

"A thing that makes me want to... never see him hurt again", was Nico's answer.

Percy's cheeks heated up. Why would Nico say such a thing? No, no. Not Nico. Handsome suit. Not a name. Names meant he was getting attached. He couldn't afford to get attached, it had hurt him often enough in the past. But... no one had ever said such a nice thing about him. No one aside from his mom. Why would this stranger say such things though...?

/break\

For two days, Percy mainly stayed holed up in his room, mulling his options over and testing the others. He got along well with Leo, who was as hyperactive as Percy. Even though his relationship with Annabeth was mainly based on teasing and playful insults, he enjoyed her company. Luke was amazing – he was like a mentor and explained stuff to Percy patiently. He also liked Bianca and Hazel very much. And then there was Nico di Angelo. Nico was kind, protective and very nice to look at. Very, _very_ nice to look at. He was constantly around Percy, always in the shadows, making sure that Percy was content. Bringing him food, asking him if he needed something else, getting him clothes and fancy things like a cellphone and DVDs. He also got Percy fake papers that claimed him to be Nico's. Two friends of Nico's had come yesterday to take pictures of Percy and dates, like his mother's name and his birthday and where he was from – the more truth was in the fake papers, the realer they would look. Which meant that Nico was serious about keeping him here and keeping him out of the system. After two days, Percy was convinced that Nico actually had Percy's best interest and safety in his mind and no inappropriate behavior.

"Coniglietta, can I come in?", asked the smooth, accented voice of Nico through the door.

Another thing Percy wasn't used to. Privacy. Nico and the others actually knocked and waited for his answer before entering his room. It was weird to Percy. He wasn't used to pets having _any_ rights, much less a right of privacy. Sitting up, he stared curiously at the door.

"Uh... sure. It's your house", pointed Percy out, tilting his head. "What's a Conny?"

"Coniglietta", repeated Nico amused, dark eyes sparkling. "It's Italian and means bunny."

Percy blushed a little, trying not to look at Nico. "W—What... do you want?"

"Travis and Connor dropped your papers off. To anyone who may challenge it, it'll look like you're mine now", stated Nico as he approached Percy on the bed and handed him the fake papers. "Which means you can leave the house now. No one has a right to bring you to a shelter again."

An odd kind of relief filled Percy. He never had such a thing before. Safety from prosecution. Now, if someone cornered him, they'd have to let him go, because he actually had 'legal' papers that made him Nico's property. No. Nico had told him yesterday, he didn't want to do this so Percy would be his property, but so Percy would be under his protection. Like Jason, Thalia, Luke, Leo, Piper and Annabeth were under the protection of the di Angelos. They all had told Percy about their lives, how they're free to go wherever they wanted, as long as they told the di Angelos first. To the cinemas, shopping, just walking in the park, on dates in restaurants. They all got an allowance from the di Angelos too, so they could buy their own things, additional to the presents the di Angelos liked to give them (at least their respective mates). Percy had gotten his first allowance yesterday too. It laid on the nightstand where Nico had put it, untouched. Percy wasn't sure what to do with money. He stared down at his fake papers. With those, he was now the responsibility of Nico and not of the state. He didn't have to hide his ears anymore when he walked somewhere, he could actually sit down in a café and eat a muffin and if someone approached him, he could tell them that he had the permission of his owner to be there and he had Nico's number saved on his phone for such an occasion. There was only one thing missing to seal the deal...

"Do you...", started Percy, wavering a little as he looked up at Nico.

The Italian smiled amused and got a black box out, presenting it to Percy. The bunnyboy stared unsure, nose twitching nervously. His fingers were shaking as he opened the box. He had worn collars before. Heavy metal collars that cut his skin and hurt. Uncomfortably tight, simple leather-collars. From shelters, from... Gabe, before he had run away and lived on the streets. But this was different. It was beautiful. A thin blue leather-collar, not thick or broad so it'd be a bother. A silver tag engraved with _Nico di Angelo_ on the front, with a five-edged-sapphire in front and behind the name and the address and Percy's pet ID number engraved on the back. Percy blushed a bit as Nico took it and laid it around Percy's neck, fastening it, but not too tight. Percy's heart beat a hundred miles an hour at the feeling of Nico's fingertips against his skin and the weight of the collar around his neck. It felt good, wearing the collar of someone who actually treated him well.

"Will I... Will I be alright?", asked Percy softly, barely audible.

"Will said you should rest for a few days, but there isn't any permanent damage. But you already know that", replied Nico confused, arching one curious eyebrow.

"That's... not what I mean", admitted Percy, averting his eyes to look at his hands in his lap.

"That's up to you", stated Nico, resting one hand in Percy's neck. "I can only hand you the tools, what you do with them is your decision. If you stay here and live with the kind of freedom I can grand you, or if you run again and chose your own path, is up to you, Percy."

/break\

It was up to him. Well, for the next five days, Percy was content with curling together on the bed and doing the blasted resting that Will had ordered him to do. Enjoying the giant bath, the comfortable bed, the large TV and the food. Especially the food. Bunnies more so than most other hybrids needed a lot of fresh food, something he hadn't really gotten the past years. He also needed the time to get properly acquainted with his new housemates. His first impression of the others was only confirmed the more time he spend with them all. They were good people.

"Percy, Percy, Percy!"

Percy jumped slightly from where he was in the middle of a _Doctor Who_ marathon. Suddenly, Leo burst into the room and jumped onto the bed, coming to rest about half an inch from Percy, all broad grin and eager expression on his face. People used to call Percy hyperactive, he had gotten into a lot of trouble for it already. But if he was hyperactive, then they needed a new word to describe Leo.

"Y—Yes?", asked Percy a little nervously.

"You're here", pointed the puppy out and sniffed Percy thoroughly.

"Yes?", confirmed Percy confused, tilting his head. "Ew. No, bad puppy. No licking!"

"I was worried, because when we came back from our walk, I couldn't smell you anymore", stated Leo eagerly, licking Percy's face, tail wagging. "I thought you ran, or went away!"

"Is he here?!", asked the next nervous voice.

The next second and a panicked Nico, followed by Bianca and Thalia, Frank and Hazel, as well as Reyna and Jason burst into the room. They were soon followed by four confused kittens.

"What's with the ruckus?", inquired Annabeth confused. "What did Percy do this time?"

"I didn't do anything!", yelped Percy and glared at the blonde. "He just jumped me!"

"Because the dogs couldn't smell you when we returned home", explained Nico concerned as he stepped up to them and pushed Leo off Percy to check his bunny. "We thought you were gone."

The next moment however, Nico was the one being pushed away by Thalia, Jason and Leo as all three dogs sniffed Percy intensely, flustering the bunny. It made him nervous, having three predators all up in his personal space like that. He hastily broke free from them and sidestepped them to jump onto Nico's lap, ears standing up as he looked around like a cornered bunny.

"You... don't smell like prey anymore", stated Thalia. "You smell like pack."

"That's why we couldn't locate you", added Jason, stalking up to Nico and Percy.

"No, bad boy", chided Nico, pushing Jason back by the forehead. "He's already nervous enough."

His other hand laid on Percy's head, caressing his hair and ears in a soothing way. The bunnyboy slowly relaxed at Nico's touch. The Italian made him feel safe. Straightening a little, Percy looked suspiciously at Thalia, Jason and Leo. Thalia was the alpha of this very unorthodox little pack and that his scent had changed from prey to pack, Percy didn't know what to think about it.

"So... no more chasing the bunny through the villa?", inquired Octavian disappointed.

"That's what I told you right from the start", grunted Nico, glaring at the arrogant catboy.

"Me too", agreed Luke, also leveling a glare at his mate.

While Nico's words flew past Octavian without any meaning, Luke's words lured Octavian in. Octavian walked over to Luke and pushed his head against Luke's, purring apologetically.

"So we _are_ going to keep the bunny", stated Piper, looking Percy up and down. "No more leaving."

Feeling cornered by all the eyes on him, Percy hid behind Nico's back. Just because they saw him as pack didn't mean he was entirely comfortable with seven predators. Nose twitching, he observed.

"I... I'm pack?", asked Percy confused, chin resting on Nico's shoulder.

He had never belonged anywhere. The only family he had ever known had been his mother. And now he belonged to a pack, had all those people who offered him kind and welcoming smiles and a home and love. Percy liked this feeling. He was afraid to lose it again, because he _really_ liked it.

/break\

"Can't we skip to the episodes with Clara?"

"No", was the chorused answer from all others.

Annabeth huffed and glared at the others, but they returned her glare just as fiercely. Piper in a jealous manner, knowing that Annabeth just enjoyed staring at Jenna Coleman, Leo with irritation because skipping forward to the episodes with Clara meant skipping his beloved 10th Doctor and Percy because he had no idea who Clara was. He was only on series three of _Doctor Who_ and wanted to watch them in chronological order. The four of them laid curled together on Percy's bed in what Leo called a puppy-pile (even though he was the only puppy involved). It was great, having people who cared for him and liked spending time with him. He even enjoyed watching Piper and Annabeth, because the two cuddled so lovingly and that was really what Percy wanted too. Love.

"Percy? Have you seen Leo?", asked Hazel as she approached the room. "Oh. Never mind."

Leo lifted his head off of Percy's chest to look at his mistress. "Yes? Do you want me to come?"

"No, never mind", repeated Hazel, smiling amused. "You look like you're having a good time."

"Okay", nodded Leo and curled together with Percy again, hugging the bunny contently.

Hazel smiled fondly as she watched them for a little while longer before leaving again. She had actually wanted for Leo to join them downstairs watching _Sherlock_, but apparently the rest of their family was already occupied by another BBC show. Returning to the living room, she found Luke and Octavian curled together on an armchair, with Octavian silently rooting for Moriarty which earned him swats on the nose from his mate every now and again. Thalia and Bianca were sitting together on the couch, holding hands with their pinkies linked in that way that made Nico on his own armchair roll his eyes at their attics. Hazel went to join Frank, Reyna and Jason on the other couch, Reyna having Jason's head resting against her shoulder, the blonde looking quite content.

"Where's our puppy?", asked Frank with a frown as he pulled her into a soft kiss.

"Upstairs. Apparently, we have a _Doctor Who_ fraction", chuckled Hazel, cuddling up to him.

"One day, we will find a BBC show that we all agree on", sighed Bianca and shook her head.

Last month, they had been split between _Merlin_ and _Atlantis_. And now that Leo had introduced Percy to the wonders of _Doctor Who_ during the time Percy had been on bed-rest, the _Doctor Who_ hype was flaring up in the di Angelo mansion again. Sadly, Nico had missed his favorite Doctor – Christopher Eccleston – so there was no point in joining them.

"Percy has been adjusting well", noted Reyna neutrally.

"He... seems to be very happy", agreed Nico slowly, not sure where Reyna was going with this.

He valued her opinion, trusted her a lot. She was also the only one aside from his sisters – because she was an honorary sister, really – who was allowed to voice her honest opinion about him.

"What Reyna means is: When will you ask him out on your first date?", supplied Hazel.

Percy had been with them for two weeks already and Nico spend a lot of time with Percy, making sure the other boy was content and ate enough, sitting together to watch Marvel-movies and eat together. Apparently, bunnies were just as cuddly as kittens and puppies and for the first time Nico had someone who sought him out for cuddles and patting. Percy made him laugh, he had all those little quirks that should be annoying but really were just endearing, like his stupid 'dam'-puns and his sometimes a little stupid questions and how his eyes would sparkle at blue food and how he could spend hours in the bathtub and how his eyes were more blue than green when he was happy and more green than blue when he was sad and just generally _everything_ about Percy. So yes, Nico knew that the feeling he had the first time he saw Percy must have been the start of love, because by now he had undoubtedly fallen in love with the cute bunnyboy. There was just no way that he would push Percy. The boy had been through so much already, he had assumed Nico to be a pervert at the beginning after all, so there was no need to make Percy think that Nico may have offered him to stay so he could get Percy into his bed. Nico wanted Percy in his bed, there was absolutely no arguing that when he saw Percy in his skinny-jeans, midriff mostly bare for about three inches to allow his fluffy, tear-drop-shaped cottontail some freedom. That tail. Nico had always thought that the long, elegant cat-tails were enchanting, or that the wagging dog-tails were intriguing, but damn, this overly fluffy, tear-drop-shaped tail, twitching when Percy was excited, pointing down at Percy's heart-shaped-ass, _this_ was perfection. Nico could stare at it every day, all day long.

"I'm not", stated Nico firmly. "I'm not going to make him feel like I trapped him here just for my own carnal pleasure. He's finally starting to ease up and feel at home here."

"Urgh, stop acting like a martyr", grunted Jason and rolled his eyes. "Reyna managed to approach me without making me feel like a sex-toy, Bianca did the same with Thalia, while Frank and Hazel managed to get Leo into their bed without him feeling enslaved. Well, without him feeling forcefully enslaved against his will, because sadly enough we all know what's going on in their bedroom. So why in the world wouldn't it work out fine for you too?"

Nico remained stubbornly silent as he stared ahead at the screen, arms crossed over his chest.

/break\

A month into Percy's stay at the di Angelos', Percy was already going out on his own. At first, he had been on bed rest, then he had been too afraid to leave the house because he still feared someone may take him away from them, away from the place he wanted to stay. By now however, he was comfortable enough to explore. And it felt good. Just walking about, with his head held high and his ears floating in the wind. He had gotten so used to hiding his ears, he had nearly forgotten how it felt to have the wind caressing them. Humming to himself, he skipped along and over the market.

Hazel, Nico, Bianca, Reyna, Frank and Jason were gone all day during the week to work. Luke and Octavian often went out on dates, so did Piper and Annabeth. Most the time, Percy would hang out with Leo, Piper and Annabeth. So Percy learned that they all had their own thing. Leo loved building stuff, for example. Just little nonsense, mostly mechanical animals of sorts. Annabeth devoured books on a daily base, which explained the giant library. Piper made jewelry and little accessories herself when she was bored, preferably with feathers and pearls. Thalia was great with a bow and arrows, the di Angelos apparently had a shooting range for her, Bianca and Frank. Luke was a trickster, who could perform magic tricks to a pretty neat level. The point was, they all knew what to do with themselves when they were alone. Percy never had the luxury of free time before, he had never gotten around to finding something like a hobby, a pastime to occupy him.

So this noon, when Luke and Octavian were at the movies, Piper and Annabeth were on a lunch date and Reyna was at the park with Leo, Jason and Thalia, Percy decided to go out on the hunt for a hobby. He had left the house for the first time two weeks ago, together with Nico and on a leash, because it made him feel entirely more comfortable if others could physically _see_ that he belonged to Nico and wasn't a stray to be picked up by the government and be put back into a shelter. For his mission however, he wanted to be on his own. He didn't want the pressure of someone else knowing about what he was doing here, in case he miserably failed. He wasn't good for anything. Gabe had told him so for years. Sea-green eyes wandered over the stands of the little farm market.

"Hello."

Percy jumped slightly and turned around, his natural flight-reflexes kicking in. Then he recognized the redheaded woman who had talked to him. The nice barista from the café he used to go to to buy a coffee whenever he had scraped up enough money for it. She used to sneak a cookie from yesterday in every now and again for him. He offered her a small smile.

"Hello, Miss Rachel", greeted Percy timidly, ears relaxing a little again.

"You look... better than the last time I saw you", noted Rachel, looking him up and down. "You haven't been to the coffee shop for a month, I started getting worried that you got in trouble."

Percy shook his head, causing the tag on his collar to jingle and gain Rachel's attention. She smiled knowingly as she read Nico's name on it, nodded slowly to herself. Percy blushed brightly.

"I—It's not like that", defended Percy awkwardly. "I mean, he's just being... kind."

"I know Mister di Angelo. He's not the kind of guy to take advantage of others", assured Rachel amused. "I attend college classes with his sister Hazel. Art. She's more interested in these kind of things than the family business. She's very nice, so if her brother is anything like her..."

"He is", interrupted Percy hastily before blushing again. "I mean... He's very nice to me."

Rachel was twenty-one, working at the coffee shop to earn some money for college. As far as she knew, Hazel was about two years younger than Nico. He had been the youngest to join the business and it had been part of his fame. Young, handsome and successful. The kind of equation that America loved. The tragedy of taking over together with his older sister, who had already been introduced to the firm before him, after the horrible death of their parents, well, people sucked it up. A tragic background story always helped pushing someone into the spotlight.

"Now, what are you doing here?", asked Rachel lightly as she checked some apples.

"Uhm... it'll sound stupid, but I'm looking for a hobby", admitted Percy.

"In the market place?", inquired Rachel surprised and a little confused.

"Well, I was thinking about what I used to like before I was on the streets", answered Percy, sniffing a basket of strawberries. "And I remembered how much I enjoyed watching my mother bake, so I thought I'd get some fresh ingredients and... try something. Gotta start somewhere."

"True", agreed Rachel, smiling a little. "How do you like living with the di Angelos so far?"

"Very much", admitted Percy, cheeks tinted red again. "They're all very... well, nice."

Rachel smiled to herself as the two continued to go shopping side by side.

/break\

That day, Nico was positively exhausted by the time he, Bianca, Thalia, Jason and Reyna sat in the stretch. It had been a tiresome day and Nico was looking forward to returning home again, spending the evening curled together on the couch in his bedroom with Percy, watching some _Danny Phantom_, because Percy never had a proper childhood and that could just not be accepted, so Nico had decided to catch the teen up on cartoons. It was maybe an hour a day that Nico got to spend alone with Percy, but it was his favorite time of the day. He enjoyed being with Percy so much, he didn't even mind when Percy convinced him to watch _My Little Pony_ instead. The fact that he sat together with two happy couples at the moment did not help at all.

"You got that gloomy 'I'm so lonely and miserable, woe is me'-look going on again, Nico", pointed Reyna out, looking unimpressed. "When will you finally make a move on Percy?"

"Leave me alone", sighed Nico, eyes closed and head thrown back to relax.

"Oh no, Reyna is completely right", agreed Bianca in her stern big-sister-voice.

Nico groaned annoyed as his big sisters teamed up on him. Trying to block them out, he focused his thoughts on Percy. Percy's smile, his eyes and how they'd light up, how off-tune he'd sing along to the _My Little Pony_ theme, how he would pick out all the blueberries from the blueberry muffins just to save them for last and how his nose would twitch when he was deep in thought.

"Nico? Do you plan on sleeping inside the car today, or do you want to join us?", inquired Reyna.

Nico started awake from his little daydream and turned to glare at the smirking Latina. Oh, Reyna knew exactly what Nico had been daydreaming about. That woman could read him like no one else. Huffing slightly to himself, Nico climbed out of the vehicle to follow the others inside. Once inside, they all looked around a little confused. The house smelt like a bakery. Frank's stomach growled in agreement to the smell, making the Canadian blush embarrassed.

"Hello? Guys?", called Bianca out, looking at Thalia inquisitively.

Her guard dog of a girlfriend just shrugged, equally confused, wolf-ears erect as she tried to listen for what was going on here. The di Angelo household was mainly about take out and deliveries during the week days. Octavian felt too important to cook, neither Piper nor Annabeth could be trusted at the hearth and Leo wasn't trusted anywhere near their kitchen equipment since he had taken their toaster apart. Sometimes the pets would go and buy cakes and often fresh bread of course, but that was something different from the scent of freshly baked, home-made goods.

The four humans and two wolves rounded the corner to the kitchen and stared surprised. Luke and Octavian were sitting at the table, together with Piper and Annabeth. Each had a plate with two to three different pieces of cake in front of them, devouring them with vigor. Leo was sitting on the kitchen-counter, with Hazel standing between his spread legs and feeding him strawberry-shortcake. Nico's favorite part of this scene however was Percy, in a frilly, blue apron, hair and bunny-ears powdered with flour or sugar, a splash of dough on his red-tinted cheeks.

"This smells amazing", stated Bianca, sniffing the air.

"Uh, please, take whatever you want. I made... six different cakes, I think", offered Percy embarrassed. "I guess I kinda went overboard there, but once I started, I couldn't stop."

The others didn't need to be asked twice and soon enough, all of them were crowded around the kitchen-table, enjoying the most delicious cakes any of them had ever tried. Nico's eyes kept flitting between the cakes and Percy. Percy the baking bunny – could there be anything comparably cute?

"They're delicious, coniglietta", praised Nico with a soft smile.

"Very delicious", agreed Frank, mouth full and cheeks bulked like a hamster's.

Everyone laughed at the content face Frank made. The little family fell into light conversations about their day while enjoying the cake and each other's company, until everyone had a sugar-inducted stomach ache because they just couldn't stop because it was just that good. Seeing as Percy had done all the baking, Piper and Annabeth insisted that the others should clean up. Very happy with this arrangement, Percy went upstairs to his bathroom and showered. It felt good, he had finally gotten out again and walked around and put his energy to good use. Getting out of the bathroom again, he was a little startled to find Nico sitting on his bed, browsing Netflix.

"N—Nico", mumbled Percy, always a bit flustered when he found Nico in his bed.

"I figured we could watch _Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks_ together?", offered Nico.

He was _not _looking forward to that movie, but Percy was. A bunny with an obsession with horses. Horses that symbolized friendship and teamwork and family and a highly held moral. Things Percy valued, so Nico could live with the fact that those values were symbolized by purple, winged unicorns and their friends. Occasionally, Leo would join them too because he was a dragon-fan and his 'favorite pony' was Spike the dragon. Go figure. Nico smiled as Percy snuggled up to him. Nico's fingers found their way to Percy's head, caressing his hair and long ears again.

"I didn't know you could bake", started Nico casually, rubbing the spot behind Percy's right ear.

He grinned as Percy's right leg twitched at that and he pushed back against the hand. "Well, I... My mother and I, we were owned by a nice man when I was a little child, but... he went bankrupt and had to sell us to his brother, who then lost us in a poker game. Our last owner, I used to call him Smelly Gabe because he stunk, he saw us as free housekeepers. Cleaning, cooking, baking. When he was at work, mom would stand in the kitchen and... it were the only peaceful moments we had."

It was the first time Percy talked about his life before joining them. A good sign that Percy was getting more comfortable with them. Nico rubbed the silken-soft ear between two fingers.

"What... happened?", asked Nico, feeling lucky.

"Mom... Mom died", whispered Percy, voice shaky. "A—And then I... I didn't see why I should stay. I ran. I never dared to run before, because I was too afraid for my mom."

Nico tightened his grip on Percy, pulling the bunny up until he was sitting on Nico's lap, comfortably snuggled up to his chest, head tugged under Nico's chin. Nico made Percy feel safe and at home and _good_. It was a nice feeling. Percy remembered it as... love. He hadn't felt love since his mother had died and this kind of love was a different one entirely. It was the kind his mother used to tell him about. The romantic kind, from the fairy tales. Percy smiled to himself. He was in love.

/break\

Two weeks later, on a Saturday during breakfast, Percy panicked. A hot sensation jolted through his body, making him double over. The others around him slowly stopped eating. First one at his side was Nico, resting a soothing hand on Percy's back. Percy jumped slightly, staring at Nico with wide eyes, pupils blown, mouth slightly agape while his cheeks flushed.

"Percy? What's wrong?", asked Nico concerned.

"I—I... h—heat...", stammered Percy awkwardly and embarrassed.

An awkward silence filled the room as the others exchanged curious looks. Heats weren't something new, all the hybrids went through heat. But all the hybrids in this household also had mates to relief them off their horniness. Percy however was mate-less. More looks were exchanged.

"Why don't you... uh, go upstairs and take a nice, cold shower?", suggested Annabeth slowly.

"Yes. That's a great idea", agreed Reyna, one hand in Jason's neck to hold him in place.

The heat of a submissive always knocked other hybrids a little off-target. Percy nodded sharply and dashed off, as fast has the bunny could. He did as he was told, enjoying the cool shower to clear his head. Not that it worked. All he could think of was hot, sweat Nico, when he trained self-defense and sword-fight with Jason, cute, dorky Nico when he was discussing comics, concentrated, self-assured Nico, when he was cooking some delicious Italian meal. Basically, just Nico all over.

"Percy? Are you... decent? Can I come in?"

Percy groaned relieved where he laid sprawled out on his bed, half-open bathrobe as he rolled his balls in one hand, other running along the length of his aching cock. Perfect timing. All the thinking about Nico had made his heat come on even stronger and now Nico had come to relieve him of it.

"Y—Yes", hissed Percy, bucking his hips up desperately.

The door opened, followed by a huffed yelp. "T—That is _not_ how I'd define 'decent', Perce!"

Something heavy landed on the bed next to him and Percy slowly cracked one eye open when he still wasn't being touched by those cunning, olive-skinned fingers. It wasn't Nico next to him on the bed, it was a box. Frowning confused, Percy sat up and looked into the box. Sex toys. Oh, nice. He wouldn't have thought Nico would get all kinky with him right from the start!

"I... took the liberty and went to buy you a bit of... everything... b—because I didn't know what you need to get off", explained Nico awkwardly, blushing. "We... also decided to take a little weekend trip to visit father. That way you... have enough privacy to deal. We know how intense the first couple days of heat are for a submissive. Leo drove us out of the house the first time around too."

All Percy could do was stare after Nico as the Italian left the room, a sick feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. Of course Nico hadn't come to relieve Percy of his heat and admit his undying love afterward while they'd be naked-cuddling in post-coital bliss. Percy was still just a dirty, little street rat. Nico was a famous, rich, prestigious man of status. He could have someone who could live up to him, who was worthy of him. Not a horny, useless, little bunny.

/break\

They didn't even make it to the airport. The thought of Percy, all alone in that big house, it drove Nico mad. Not just because he had been haunted by images of Percy, naked and spread out on the bed, impaled on one of the large toys he had bought for the bunny. No, more the... vulnerability of it all. What if some robbers decided that now would be the perfect time to break into the top-notch secured mansion and they'd find Percy like that and decide to steal _him_ and do unspeakable things to the defenseless little bunny? Or the mailman? Nico could not leave Percy alone there. As soon as they reached the parking lot of the airport, Nico ordered Frank to turn back. No one protested, there were only secretive smiles being exchanged between members of the family.

"You just wanna walk in on Percy doing the nasty with himself", accused Leo playfully.

Nico's face turned beet-red at the accusation, but he couldn't find it in himself to deny that. It may not be goal number one here, but he wouldn't hate to find Percy like that. After all, he had spend a lot of time reading up on bunny-hybrids during Percy's bed-rest phase before they forged the papers, because he wanted to be prepared for what he was supposed to expect with their new housemate. Apparently bunny-hybrids were specially bred for pleasure because of their heightened sex-drives. A lot of graphic pictures and videos followed, all quite inspiring. He couldn't even begin to imagine what a bunny in heat was going to be like. Percy was already a luscious and seductive creature – by accident and not by purpose, the way he moved and looked, his eyes and lips and everything did things to Nico that Percy wasn't even aware of. Which was the main reason why he had wanted to flee the house – Percy in heat would test Nico's resistance to its limits and he certainly didn't want to abuse Percy's trust now that he was at his most vulnerable.

What they found in the living room was not what they had expected. Percy was there and to the hybrids, it stunk of submissive-in-heat, all sweet and alluring, begging to be bred. The dominant hybrids turned heels right away and rushed upstairs to lock themselves into their own bedrooms. Not because they feared they couldn't hold back and would jump Percy, but because the scent made them horny too, so locking themselves in with their own mates seemed to be the only appropriate response. Nico however was thrown off by the state Percy was in. He wasn't masturbating, he was crying. He sat curled together on Nico's black satin armchair, crying into his knees.

"Percy! Are you alright?", asked Nico concerned and approached the bunny.

Much to his horror, Percy's instant reaction to his touch was to flinch away. Percy hadn't reacted that way in a month, not to Nico's touch. The Italian backed off, staring horrified at his bunny.

"Why... don't you guys give us a moment?", suggested Leo softly, asserting the situation.

He was the only naturally submissive in this household and somehow, he had a feeling about this. Offering his two owners and mates a pleading look, he convinced Frank and Hazel to usher everyone else out of the room so only Leo and Percy remained. Leo cautiously approached the other, knowing how overall vulnerable a submissive was during their heat.

"Hey", whispered Leo softly as he sat down. "Why are you crying?"

"H—He bought me toys", replied Percy, arms folded on top of his knees, chin resting on them as he looked up at Leo with teary eyes. "I—I thought he would... _he_ would... h—help me out... I—I know it's silly, he can have anything and anyone he'd want, why in the world would he want a used, broken toy like _me_?! He deserves someone... way better than... than me..."

Leo gulped hard, like he was trying to swallow a whole mountain at once. Percy was a bunny and Leo knew what kind of fate they mostly had in the pet-world, but somehow he had still been disillusioned to believe that maybe, Percy had been lucky so far. Apparently, he hadn't.

"Percy...", whispered the Latino softly. "Why don't you go upstairs and take care of yourself, mh? There is really no need to hurt yourself like that. I know how much the heat hurts when you don't get any release at all. There's no point in crying, Percy."

He knew from experience that him telling Percy how incredibly much Nico loved him, it would only fall on deaf ears. Percy needed to hear it from the stubborn Italian himself. With sad eyes, Leo watched his new friend slowly stand and climb the stairs. Time to have a serious conversation with one Nico di Angelo. Leo's ears were erect as he straightened up and walked all the way to Nico's room with determination behind his steps. He was a puppy, not a strong wolf like Jason, but he may be damned if he'd stand by while his friend got hurt. Not happening.

"Nico!", exclaimed Leo as he entered the room without knocking. "You're an idiot!"

Nico lifted his head from where it was buried in a book, one eyebrow cocked. "Thanks for the input? What is the point of this? Because I am so not in the mood."

"Percy is... He's... He's devastated because he wanted to spend his heat with you and you just dump a pile of toys on him and leave! He feels like he's not good enough for you, like he's-", Leo choked on his own words. "Like he's too dirty for you to even contemplate touching him! Too... used..."

Nico's head, seeing as it had dropped back into the book intend on ignoring the loud Latino, snapped up again, staring at Leo dumbfounded. "What...? No. What? No, no."

"Great, I broke Nico...", muttered Leo beneath his breath. "You're an _idiot_. Beyond measurement."

"That... appears to be the case", agreed Nico reluctantly and stood. "Seeing as we established that I'm an idiot, mind telling me what I'm supposed to do now? How... How do I fix this?"

"Go next door and screw Percy's brains out! Christ!", exclaimed Leo, gesturing wildly. "You're _hopeless_! Did you _really_ ever have a boyfriend before, because I start seriously believing Will's stories about your dating history and you _ever_ only scored because he set you up with guys! Gods! You're hopeless! Go, go, go, go, go! And don't make him cry again!"

Nico made a face. So maybe Will used to help him in the past when it came to getting dates, because Nico wasn't exactly the best at expressing his emotions and all of that. Or reading other people's emotions. So he sucked. Not every Italian was a born playboy, okay? Blushing embarrassed, he slowly made his way to Percy's room, dragging his feet because he had no idea what to say to his cute, little bunny. How could Percy possibly ever think anything negative about himself? The boy was utter perfection. Everything he did was adorable and cute and damn, Nico really had it bad, didn't he? Reaching Percy's room, he contemplated knocking. But knocking gave Percy the option to just lock him out and Nico was pretty sure they were done with that. Or at least, they should be done with it. It was time for action. Walking in, he finally got the sight he had hoped for earlier. Percy, naked and flushed, a sheet of sweat covering his porcelain-like skin, floppy, black ears and messy, black hair whipping with his movement as Percy rode a dildo with a suction pad to attach it to the floor tiles. The image would forever be burned to his mind.

"Percy", stated Nico firmly.

Percy's head whipped around and sea-green eyes stared large and frantically at him. His cheeks flushed even more and he hastily got off the dildo, a moaned whimper slipping past his lips as the toy slipped out of his hole. This, of course, turned his cheeks darker. Percy hastily grabbed his sheets off his bed to wrap them around his body, trying to hide behind them.

"N—Nico", whispered Percy unsure. "W—Why are you... here?"

"Because we need to talk", replied Nico and walked up to Percy.

Again, Percy flinched away from his touch. Nico didn't let it faze him this time. He continued his way, until he had Percy backed up against the wall. Percy looked all the part of a cornered bunny, but Nico didn't stop. He caught Percy's wrists and pinned them to the wall. Percy whimpered.

"D—Don't touch me", pleaded Percy, eyes large and begging.

"Why not? Because you think you're dirty? Not worth it?", challenged Nico, glare on his face when Percy flinched again. "You have _no idea_ how much I want to touch you, all of you. To kiss you, every inch of your skin. When your heat broke out, all I wanted to do was send the others out and fuck you right on the breakfast table, between the bacon and toasts."

"...Leo told you", whispered Percy and stared at Nico upset. "Don't... Don't make fun of me..."

"I'm not making fun of you", stated Nico sternly, catching Percy's face by his cheeks and forcing him to look at him. "I love you. I love you so incredibly much. All my life, I thought all I needed was the firm and my sisters. And then I met you and you're just... brightening my life, Percy."

It was hard to doubt him when Nico looked at him with those deep, honest eyes. "Then... Then why did you give me those toys and didn't fuck me between breakfast...?"

"Because I love you and I didn't want you to think that I'm just taking advantage of your heat", answered Nico honestly, lips lingering in front of Percy, so close that Percy could feel their warmth.

"You're... s—serious...", whispered Percy astonished as he stared into Nico's eyes. "But I'm... I'm used... I've been... bought from the shelter before, a couple of times. I just always ran away again. You... You wouldn't want that. You're important. I'm not dumb, I can read. I saw the magazines you feature in. They want you to have a pretty wife and not... something like me..."

"You're not dumb, so you should know that I don't care what others want from me", countered Nico, raising one elegant eyebrow. "I don't want any of that. I want _you_. Not something like you, but you and only you. And if you're not going to object, I will kiss you silly right now."

If possible, Percy's eyes widened even more. That sounded good. Sounded like everything he ever wanted. Percy did what prey animals always did when a predator stared down at them like that. He went completely still and waited to be devoured. Nico's lips were soft against his, hungry as they moved against Percy's, a tongue darting out to lick the outlines of Percy's lips and Percy eagerly parted for the intruder. His knees were getting weak and he whimpered into the kiss, feeling his heat flare up with a vengeance. Nico caught him though, grasping him by his hips and holding him up.

"Shall we move this to the bed?", suggested Nico with a playful smile.

Percy just nodded numbly, licking his lips to taste more of Nico even in the afterward. He did managed to yelp though, when Nico gathered him up bridal style to carry him to the bed. Percy immediately got on all fours, ass pointing up, tail raised in excitement. Nico wanted him. Nico wanted to mate with him. He had never had sex with someone of his choice. But when nothing happened after a while, Percy grew concerned. Had Nico changed his mind? Turning his head, he looked up at Nico just to find the Italian standing next to the bed, staring at him in amazement.

"Are you going to fuck me or not?", inquired the bunnyboy confused, ears twitching.

"Let me enjoy the sight, naughty bunny", chided Nico with a frown.

His fingers fondled Percy's ears in that way that made Percy half-close his eyes, nose twitch and mouth half-open. Nico loved that expression, because it was totally adorable. Smiling softly, Nico let his fingers wander downward, along Percy's spine, causing the bunnyboy to shudder. He played with the fluffy and cute tail a little, cocking one eyebrow as Percy moaned and bucked back when Nico tugged just the slightest bit. Kinky little bunny liked that, mh? Nico smirked and tugged again, this time Percy's right leg twitched a little and he pushed his ass back more. Nico cupped Percy's butt and squeezed a bit, then some more when it got him a moan from Percy. His hand adjusted, fingers slipping between the crack, noting how slick it was. Nico raised one eyebrow. He had read about submissives producing their own internal lube. Due to the slickness, his fingers slipped deeper until he got to circle the hole, still loose and gaping from the large dildo that now stuck unused to the floor. Nico reluctantly let go of Percy to strip down. Percy all the while turned around onto his back, legs sticking up into the air, widely spread for Nico to stare at the hard member pointing his way. Percy seemed _very_ eager to get laid. Then again, he was a bunny and they were prone for their sex-drive on a regular day. When he was finally naked, he didn't get another second to marvel at Percy's gorgeous body all spread out in front of him, because Percy grabbed his hand and pulled him in. Stumbling a little, Nico found himself laying on top of Percy, staring at him.

"Eager, are we?", teased Nico amused. "Naughty bunny."

"Shut up and just _fuck me_", groaned Percy, bucking up against Nico so their hard cocks rubbed against each other. "I've been in heat for over a day now and I haven't come once!"

Nico frowned concerned. Right. He knew how torturous heat could be for a submissive, he had heard the pleas from Leo through the walls already. Running his hands over Percy's thighs, he spread them more and leaned down to kiss Percy softly and trail his lips along Percy's neck and collar. Percy groaned as still nothing happened, fingers clawed into Nico's shoulders. The Italian grunted surprised when Percy flipped them over and straddled Nico's waist, glaring at him.

"Okay...", grunted Nico surprised as Percy had him pinned by the shoulders.

"Either you're serious and want me, or you're just fooling around", hissed Percy irritated.

"Hey, hey", whispered Nico soothingly. "Hey now. I'm not fooling around here. It's our first time, I just wanted to take it slow and enjoy your body, marvel at your beauty..."

"Well, you're allowed to ogle and 'marvel' all you want once you properly knocked me out with your cock", stated Percy simply, glaring down at the human, ears erect. "We bunnies don't mate with tender kissy-stuff and crap. We fuck. Hard and fast. You can have that tender stuff when I'm not in heat and on edge. Right now, I want your cock inside of me, filling me up and breeding me."

"You're... hot when you take charge like that", noted Nico dumbfounded, blinking doe-eyed.

Percy grinned down at his chosen mate and adjusted himself to hover above Nico's hardness. How often had he pictured having Nico inside of him? His own cock twitched at the mere thought. He thrust down, impaling himself on the thick cock, grateful he had been playing with himself before Nico had come here so he was now more than ready for his owner.

"Y—Yes", moaned Percy when he hit his own prostate with Nico's cock. "S—So _thick_ and nice and warm and... good. Wanted you for _so_ long! My mate, right? Only mine?"

"Only yours", panted Nico in agreement while Percy rode him as though there was no tomorrow.

All Nico could do was lay there and let Percy take what he wanted, the bunny was so vigorous in his movements. It took the Italian a moment before he had himself collected enough to actually act. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around Percy's cock, causing the bunny to pause at the warm touch. Only for a moment in which their eyes met, after that short moment, Percy started moving again. Within minutes, Percy came all over Nico's chest, not stopping his movement until he could feel Nico coming deep inside of him. Percy bend over, kissing Nico slowly and borderline lazily, his lips dragging down to his chest. Nico squirmed and tried not to laugh as Percy's tongue darted out, placing little licks on the Italian to clean him off the cum. Once Nico was nicely clean, Percy lifted himself off Nico's slowly softening cock and attached his lips to it. Nico groaned exhausted as Percy kept nibbling and kissing and licking his dick back into hardness.

"More", demanded Percy with hooded eyes, licking his swollen lips.

"You're incredible, coniglietta", whispered Nico in awe, sitting up some and patting his lap. "But now... Come here first. Give me at least a minute break and a kiss, my love."

Percy's nose twitched in excitement as he climbed onto Nico's lap and laid his arms around the Italian's neck. This kiss was filled with affection and tenderness and Percy felt himself melting.

"And now you'll fuck me again, right?", asked Percy hopefully, kissing the corner of Nico's mouth. "Hard and long and good, yes? And _deep_. I want you to breed me well, mate."

"...Breed?", echoed Nico stunned and blinked slowly as realization set in. "Oh. Oh fuck. Right, condoms. You're a submissive hybrid. I need condoms. I'm so sorry, Percy."

Percy blinked doe-eyed and tilted his head confused. "Why? You're my mate. You said you want me. I—If you want me, you have to... to want me wholly. As your mate, right? I wanna be your mate. I wanna have your kits. You don't... want me to have your kits...?"

Nico could only stare at Percy in awe. He had gotten pressure from the press for a while now, carrying the family name and continuing the family business. He had always liked children and for the past few years, he had often thought about having children, but this was a _little_ sudden. Then again, when he looked at his bunny, all needy and confused and _determined_, there wasn't anything else to say. He wanted this. The whole deal. When he looked deep into those sea-green eyes, he could see it all. He could see Percy and him, together. Attending balls, going on vacations, having dates, raising an adorable bunch of children with floppy ears and cottontails.

"I... want you...", whispered Nico with as much conviction as possible, grasping Percy's face and kissing him. "For more than just sex. For... everything you have to offer, my love."

"Then breed me", ordered Percy with a frown, eyes crossed in impatience.

How could anyone say such a kinky thing while looking so utterly adorable? Nico smiled amused and shook his head, adjusting Percy to sit on all fours. The bunnyboy eagerly spread his knees a bit, tail raised in expectations. Nico leaned over, holding onto Percy's his while he eased his hardness into the loose yet tight hole. His lips found Percy's neck, kissing and nibbling it while thrusting.

"Sh, good little bunny", whispered Nico as he caught Percy's ear with his teeth, tugging a little. "I'm going to breed you good, my little bunny. I'll fuck you into oblivion, you'd like that, mh?"

Percy just moaned in agreement, bucking back against Nico until they came, joined in their orgasm. This time, even Percy was satisfied and laid down pleased. Nico smiled softly when he curled together around Percy, pulling the bunny up against his chest. Percy hummed contently.

"I love you, Nico", whispered Percy softly. "Very much. You... saved my life."

"I love you too", replied Nico, kissing along Percy's shoulders. "I knew it the moment I first saw you in that coffee shop. I... know I never want to miss you again in my life, coniglietta..."

Percy had the happiest smile possible on his lips. This was karma finally repaying him.

_~*~ The End ~*~_


End file.
